>> |
Anonymous
VIENNA (Agence France-Presse) Jörg Haider, the leader of the right-wing Alliance for Austrias Future, who died in a car crash this weekend, was driving at more than twice the speed limit after going to a nightclub, court officials said Sunday.
Mr. Haider was going 88 miles per hour in a zone with a limit of 43 m.p.h. (70 kilometers per hour) when he crashed early on Saturday, the prosecutors office said. A prosecutor, Gottfried Kranza, did not say whether Mr. Haider had tested positive for alcohol.
Mr. Haiders vehicle, a Volkswagen Phaeton V6, was new and in perfect condition, Mr. Kranza told the Austrian news agency APA. He declined to speculate on the cause of the crash.
Mr. Haider, 58, veered off the road south of Klagenfurt, the capital of Carinthia Province, where he was governor. He suffered serious head, chest and spinal injuries, and died while being taken to the hospital, the police said.
Alliance leaders on Sunday appointed Stefan Petzner, who was a party spokesman and close Haider associate, to replace him.
|